I am from Michigan (hunted both UP and LP all my life) and have property and hunt in an adjacent county to Adam for the last 10 years. The problem is not a reduction of hunters... Michigan could use less hunters, because there is a per capita issue. Every 5 acres has a person or two on it. Less hunters is okay (for now). The issue is and continues to be hunter mindset. No one wants to shoot does. Everyone wants their buck and they don't care about the size. Just "gotta get muh buck". The data speaks for itself. Compare it to any state. Michigan is one of the worst. The DNR refuses to see the most logical answer... mandatory 4pt+ APRs. Force hunters to pass smaller bucks and fill the freezers with the excess of does. In turn, you get a more balanced deer herd and better age structure for those wanting to harvest older deer. "My tag, my buck" is a ridiculous argument, because deer (bucks specifically) are a limited resource and no, you can't and shouldn't just be able to shoot whatever you want just because you bought a tag. No different than not being able to keep a 10" walleye. One Buck Rule (OBR) also wouldn't work in MI - my personal view. Most would just shoot the first small buck and be done. Most second tags never get filled... it's in the single digit percentages (5-8%). The DNR should also further incentivize doe harvest where necessary and they need to start looking at much smaller management units. Southern MI is not the UP, nor is it even the Northern LP. They need to be managed separately. Oh, and the UP needs some help with the wolves that "aren't impacting the herd". Yeah, right. Ask any yooper if they've seen or heard one lately.....
If it makes you feel better, I am starting this year after only hunting once many years ago. There's so many in my part of the stae that it's insane. I only plan to shoot a dow or two. I don't know a lot about deer, but I think it's odd to see 5 bucks in a field at once that are just chilling. I know it's odd to see a herd of 50 deer in one field. It is odd for them to eat or evergreen bushes, it's odd for me to be able to stop the car and yell at them to ger out of the way and they look at you and go back to eating. I guess it's odd fo rme to hunt, so there you go.The new muzzle loadeers are way nicer than the old ones Seriously, what made me decide to hunt this year was all the deer I ran into in the woods mushroom hunting. Btw, found a ton of red chanterelles.Every trip I have made this year in the woods I have spooked at least one deer.
The ban on baiting imo most definitely has affected the deer harvest numbers. Like you said, in the south especially there are many small parcels where people just won’t spend the time to put in plots to help draw the deer. Those people would shoot a lot more deer if they could bait.
I agree 💯 %! I live in the UP when you could bait with 5 days worth of bait wich is about 100 lb bag beets and bucket of Corn an bag of Apples we had more deer then and people fed deer in the Winter without restrictions. Then 2-gallons and we lost a lot of Hunters that came North and People couldn’t feed in Winter UNTIL they found Many Deer starved to death in deer yards killed by Wolves! The next yr could winter feed a limited amount! The same yrs had 2 deep snow depth and many deer couldn’t out run Wolves so more dead Deer! So the Moral of the Story is get RID of the Wolves or Transport them down to the Pigeon River elk Heard kill only one of them and DNR may listen???
I think there is a difference for those that have lived and grew up in northern Michigan cause as I have gotten older I remember being told that does are still venison and you can’t eat the antlers. We need meat in the freezer and I have been ok with filling doe tags.
I agree I think that the youth season alone does nothing for the deer control because every Fad with a kid old enough to sit still for an hour shoots a buck rather then a doe , it' is about bragging rites . to shoot a doe or a buck for a beginning hunter should be enough for the hunting future to mature
I have hunted the same family owned 15 acres for the last 30 years in Michigan. I only get to hunt an average of about 5 days a year. When baiting was legal it was no problem to harvest animal. I have mostly taken doe's and have not taken many bucks because I'm looking to just fill the freezer. However for the last 3 years I have only seen 1 deer while hunting with no baiting. When baiting was legal I would see at least a deer ever other day. The two buck tag is also a joke.
The Michigan DNR has managed a TB Zone for more than twenty years. This management has left the deer heard in worst condition, than before instinctual control. Doing the same things, year after year, without impact on the spread of TB, calls for a change in strategy.
I hunt state land in wolf country (Delta/Menominee). This past year we had numerous wolf tracks (in our tire tracks) on the 2-track, and we heard the pack howling at night. Every year, more wolf sign and fewer deer observed in the woods per hunter per day. It's defies logic that the wolf population has been stabl at 650 to 750 wolves over the past 15 years. There are many more wolves in the UP than the DNR tells us. Where else in nature where a species can maintain a constant population by itself with a new, virtually endless food supply and thousands of square miles to expand into? The wolves are definitely impacting the deer herd much more than what the DNR is telling us. That being said, no deer = not as many hunters. Hope the DNR can fund all of their forest destruction, I mean GEMS plots, with just bird hunters!
I was a skeptic of the one buck rule when it came to my home state of Indiana. But I have seen the result in the deer maturity, size and quality of hunting. On my family farm, we don’t have the number of deer we had in the early 90’s pre Bluetoung. But the bucks are bigger every year and doe tags are plentiful. I like Indiana’s long seasons to give people all the opportunities they can to get out and hunt. I like to hunt as many days as possible, and don’t mind switching equipment to do so.
I 100% agree with Uncle Ted I would love to see Just Hunting Season and having no firearm season or archery season or muzzleloader specific season for specific weapons
Many bow hunters don't want to be in the woods when the woods are loaded with gun hunters. When I started bow hunting, there even weren't many people hunting with a bow. We basically had the woods to ourselves, with exception of small game hunters. It was peaceful, and even though we rarely harvested a deer, it was still fun. When baiting became legal, the woods during archery were suddenly filled with hunters. There were huge piles of bait everywhere. I even saw a guy going through the woods with a lawn tractor towing a small trailer filled with sugar beets. All that said, these days I prefer hunting with a gun or my muzzle loader. I am limited to hunting on public land, so if it's brown, it's down.
Pretty good podcast. I have hunted all three zones for over many years, each zone is very different in habitat and food sources. Hard to have blanket policy to fit all three zones. We have lost many hunters in the upper peninsula due to low deer numbers. There are still many hunting opportunities in this state if you look for them!
I would like to see just one buck tag. Maybe hunters would be more picky and if they really want the meat they would take more does. I do not like the idea of just one hunting season where you could use any weapon. I think there would be a large number of hunters using firearms early in the season. The rest of the season would be just like after the first few days of firearm season where deer would be scarce especially for those who hunt public land or who only have access to small parcels of private. It would probably affect archery hunters the most.
Ive lived in Mich for 5 years now , And in that time the deer around here in south central area has really deminished I dont see near the deer I did . about ready to move back to Ind. one off the biggest things I hate to see is deer laying dead on the road . if someone hits a deer they should be responsable to remove the deer from the road and report it so the resourse is not just laid to rott it is terrible sheriffs department should have a list or folks that would process and use the meat for good I mean there is a law against wanten waist
If you want deer shot stop the greed and get doe tags back to six dollars where they were. There should be antler restrictions on buck harvests and does should be harvested during early hunting seasons and no late season doe hunting.
@@DDHONLINE in my area the doe population is out of control. We even had a town do a cull because of all the car accidents.. bucks seem to be growing in population with the antler restriction and the lack of hunters. But I agree we should probably only get Buck tag
@@DDHONLINE The deer herd in Gratiot County seems pretty healthy with numbers resembling that of 1985. In June I was out fixing some trails and working on blinds, we heard 15 shots, most likely block permit deer being culled. In 1985 I would see around 20 some deer opening morning of rifle season alone.
@@novchild1968 spin things however you want my friend. Adam is very knowledgeable and a very well accomplished hunter. I for one, do not have a problem, sticking up for him.😊. It's a bit funny, that you let words bother you, but have no problem tossing out words that might bother others. No matter how old you are, it's obvious, you still have much to learn. I wish you much enlightenment, along your journey, my friend! 😉
@@novchild1968 and hell, I'm clueless to some of them. Because they change them all the time. And make it difficult, to say the least, reading between the lines, on what's legal, not legal, and all kinds of left handed wording they put in to every year's regulations. Fact.
@@matthewwichtner2935 please justify why I should not call out someone that doesn’t know the second buck tag regulations in the state he’s talking about as an “expert “? I’ll wait
I am from Michigan (hunted both UP and LP all my life) and have property and hunt in an adjacent county to Adam for the last 10 years. The problem is not a reduction of hunters... Michigan could use less hunters, because there is a per capita issue. Every 5 acres has a person or two on it. Less hunters is okay (for now). The issue is and continues to be hunter mindset. No one wants to shoot does. Everyone wants their buck and they don't care about the size. Just "gotta get muh buck". The data speaks for itself. Compare it to any state. Michigan is one of the worst.
The DNR refuses to see the most logical answer... mandatory 4pt+ APRs. Force hunters to pass smaller bucks and fill the freezers with the excess of does. In turn, you get a more balanced deer herd and better age structure for those wanting to harvest older deer. "My tag, my buck" is a ridiculous argument, because deer (bucks specifically) are a limited resource and no, you can't and shouldn't just be able to shoot whatever you want just because you bought a tag. No different than not being able to keep a 10" walleye. One Buck Rule (OBR) also wouldn't work in MI - my personal view. Most would just shoot the first small buck and be done. Most second tags never get filled... it's in the single digit percentages (5-8%).
The DNR should also further incentivize doe harvest where necessary and they need to start looking at much smaller management units. Southern MI is not the UP, nor is it even the Northern LP. They need to be managed separately. Oh, and the UP needs some help with the wolves that "aren't impacting the herd". Yeah, right. Ask any yooper if they've seen or heard one lately.....
If it makes you feel better, I am starting this year after only hunting once many years ago. There's so many in my part of the stae that it's insane. I only plan to shoot a dow or two. I don't know a lot about deer, but I think it's odd to see 5 bucks in a field at once that are just chilling. I know it's odd to see a herd of 50 deer in one field. It is odd for them to eat or evergreen bushes, it's odd for me to be able to stop the car and yell at them to ger out of the way and they look at you and go back to eating. I guess it's odd fo rme to hunt, so there you go.The new muzzle loadeers are way nicer than the old ones Seriously, what made me decide to hunt this year was all the deer I ran into in the woods mushroom hunting. Btw, found a ton of red chanterelles.Every trip I have made this year in the woods I have spooked at least one deer.
The ban on baiting imo most definitely has affected the deer harvest numbers. Like you said, in the south especially there are many small parcels where people just won’t spend the time to put in plots to help draw the deer. Those people would shoot a lot more deer if they could bait.
I agree 💯 %! I live in the UP when you could bait with 5 days worth of bait wich is about 100 lb bag beets and bucket of Corn an bag of Apples we had more deer then and people fed deer in the Winter without restrictions. Then 2-gallons and we lost a lot of Hunters that came North and People couldn’t feed in Winter UNTIL they found Many Deer starved to death in deer yards killed by Wolves! The next yr could winter feed a limited amount! The same yrs had 2 deep snow depth and many deer couldn’t out run Wolves so more dead Deer! So the Moral of the Story is get RID of the Wolves or Transport them down to the Pigeon River elk Heard kill only one of them and DNR may listen???
I think there is a difference for those that have lived and grew up in northern Michigan cause as I have gotten older I remember being told that does are still venison and you can’t eat the antlers. We need meat in the freezer and I have been ok with filling doe tags.
I agree I think that the youth season alone does nothing for the deer control because every Fad with a kid old enough to sit still for an hour shoots a buck rather then a doe , it' is about bragging rites . to shoot a doe or a buck for a beginning hunter should be enough for the hunting future to mature
The second tag has been a restricted tag for 20 years
4 points on one side
Correct
This Adam guy is a joke!
@@novchild1968 knows nothing
I have hunted the same family owned 15 acres for the last 30 years in Michigan. I only get to hunt an average of about 5 days a year. When baiting was legal it was no problem to harvest animal. I have mostly taken doe's and have not taken many bucks because I'm looking to just fill the freezer. However for the last 3 years I have only seen 1 deer while hunting with no baiting. When baiting was legal I would see at least a deer ever other day. The two buck tag is also a joke.
Oh man, this interview has opened up some serious cans. Lol.
The Michigan DNR has managed a TB Zone for more than twenty years. This management has left the deer heard in worst condition, than before instinctual control. Doing the same things, year after year, without impact on the spread of TB, calls for a change in strategy.
I hunt state land in wolf country (Delta/Menominee). This past year we had numerous wolf tracks (in our tire tracks) on the 2-track, and we heard the pack howling at night. Every year, more wolf sign and fewer deer observed in the woods per hunter per day. It's defies logic that the wolf population has been stabl at 650 to 750 wolves over the past 15 years. There are many more wolves in the UP than the DNR tells us. Where else in nature where a species can maintain a constant population by itself with a new, virtually endless food supply and thousands of square miles to expand into? The wolves are definitely impacting the deer herd much more than what the DNR is telling us. That being said, no deer = not as many hunters. Hope the DNR can fund all of their forest destruction, I mean GEMS plots, with just bird hunters!
I was a skeptic of the one buck rule when it came to my home state of Indiana. But I have seen the result in the deer maturity, size and quality of hunting. On my family farm, we don’t have the number of deer we had in the early 90’s pre Bluetoung. But the bucks are bigger every year and doe tags are plentiful.
I like Indiana’s long seasons to give people all the opportunities they can to get out and hunt. I like to hunt as many days as possible, and don’t mind switching equipment to do so.
I 100% agree with Uncle Ted I would love to see Just Hunting Season and having no firearm season or archery season or muzzleloader specific season for specific weapons
And we would go from poor hunting to non-existent hunting. Not a good plan.
Many bow hunters don't want to be in the woods when the woods are loaded with gun hunters. When I started bow hunting, there even weren't many people hunting with a bow. We basically had the woods to ourselves, with exception of small game hunters. It was peaceful, and even though we rarely harvested a deer, it was still fun. When baiting became legal, the woods during archery were suddenly filled with hunters. There were huge piles of bait everywhere. I even saw a guy going through the woods with a lawn tractor towing a small trailer filled with sugar beets. All that said, these days I prefer hunting with a gun or my muzzle loader. I am limited to hunting on public land, so if it's brown, it's down.
One of the biggest problems in my opinion would be the lack of land people are able to hunt. Give incentives for landowners to let people hunt.
Pretty good podcast. I have hunted all three zones for over many years, each zone is very different in habitat and food sources. Hard to have blanket policy to fit all three zones. We have lost many hunters in the upper peninsula due to low deer numbers. There are still many hunting opportunities in this state if you look for them!
I would like to see just one buck tag. Maybe hunters would be more picky and if they really want the meat they would take more does. I do not like the idea of just one hunting season where you could use any weapon. I think there would be a large number of hunters using firearms early in the season. The rest of the season would be just like after the first few days of firearm season where deer would be scarce especially for those who hunt public land or who only have access to small parcels of private. It would probably affect archery hunters the most.
Ive lived in Mich for 5 years now , And in that time the deer around here in south central area has really deminished I dont see near the deer I did . about ready to move back to Ind. one off the biggest things I hate to see is deer laying dead on the road . if someone hits a deer they should be responsable to remove the deer from the road and report it so the resourse is not just laid to rott it is terrible sheriffs department should have a list or folks that would process and use the meat for good I mean there is a law against wanten waist
If you want deer shot stop the greed and get doe tags back to six dollars where they were. There should be antler restrictions on buck harvests and does should be harvested during early hunting seasons and no late season doe hunting.
If you hunt public land in the Northern Lower and you don't put out some bait you won't see deer. Its that simple.
I do, and I hunt state land just northwest of Grand Rapids without bait. Mainly, the other hunters will push the deer around.
@@kurtglo I'm looking north of that
Hmmm I must be getting lucky every year 😅
They call it hunting not baiting , learn to hunt.......
S.mart man Adam is we need his rules
I would like see the numbers for the does taken with deer damage tags.. do these numbers go into the total number of deer taken for the season?
Yes, they go toward the state total.
@@DDHONLINE nice.. I know a lot of them orange tags get used in my neck of the woods
@@MichiganAirgunner What are your thoughts on the deer herd there?
@@DDHONLINE in my area the doe population is out of control. We even had a town do a cull because of all the car accidents.. bucks seem to be growing in population with the antler restriction and the lack of hunters. But I agree we should probably only get Buck tag
@@DDHONLINE The deer herd in Gratiot County seems pretty healthy with numbers resembling that of 1985. In June I was out fixing some trails and working on blinds, we heard 15 shots, most likely block permit deer being culled. In 1985 I would see around 20 some deer opening morning of rifle season alone.
Maybe people just don't want to be treated like children
Big out of state farmers have been buying as much as they can.. Most are retiring farmers aith 210 acre farm.. Its almost custom to take a doe.
Needs a micro management.. Square mile in some cases.
Less state land in the south, simple.
Less hunters cause no place to hunt because of leasing
The dnr is broken
Where do you think bucks come from , they just dont appear .
Mich DNR sucks......
I hunt pats ain’t, their are gait piles all ovever state land
Adam is clueless, The fact that he doesn’t even know Michigans current regulations is laughable
You must be a kid. And you're totally wrong. Check out a couple of his shows and tell me you still feel the same.
@@matthewwichtner2935 ya only a kid would see he’s clueless of Michigans regulations.
@@novchild1968 spin things however you want my friend. Adam is very knowledgeable and a very well accomplished hunter. I for one, do not have a problem, sticking up for him.😊.
It's a bit funny, that you let words bother you, but have no problem tossing out words that might bother others.
No matter how old you are, it's obvious, you still have much to learn. I wish you much enlightenment, along your journey, my friend! 😉
@@novchild1968 and hell, I'm clueless to some of them. Because they change them all the time. And make it difficult, to say the least, reading between the lines, on what's legal, not legal, and all kinds of left handed wording they put in to every year's regulations. Fact.
@@matthewwichtner2935 please justify why I should not call out someone that doesn’t know the second buck tag regulations in the state he’s talking about as an “expert “? I’ll wait
This guy is a joke
Youth season dad shoots the big buck......modern dad's suck huge!!!